English language education in Japan is big business with English set to be mandatory in schools from grade 3 all the way through compulsory schooling in the very near future. With the 2020 deadline looming, teachers are looking to develop their teaching skills to cope with the new demand for communicative classrooms.

Over the past week Lexis TESOL Training Centres has been giving seminars around the country focusing on teacher training courses to help teachers with this professional development. Finishing up in Tokyo on Saturday, the seminars were well received and it is clear that teachers in Japan are highly skilled and highly motivated but also unaware of how to go about developing. Our seminars focused on two main Cambridge Assessment English qualifications – CELTA and CELT-S.

Well known globally, the Cambridge CELTA has been the gold standard in English language teaching qualifications for decades. A highly respected and internationally recognised course that is designed for people with little or no teaching experience. It requires a high level of English proficiency and a high level of commitment. But what about a qualification for teachers who already have a high level of training and education and who don’t have the luxury of taking a month of to retrain? Enter the CELT-S course.

The Certificate in English Language Teaching – Secondary has been specifically designed for English teachers operating in high school and junior high school contexts. The course deals with the issues of teaching English in these contexts such as large class sizes and varying motivation levels and helps teachers build on existing knowledge to change the focus of their teaching. The end goal being students who will not be disadvantaged by their communication skills on the global stage.

It is an exciting time to be in English language education in Japan and the message is clear – adapt and  develop or risk falling behind.